Overview

Founded in 2012, Trinity Film Festival is a national platform for undergraduate filmmakers. We aim to provide a celebratory evening of cinematic dialogue that enables student filmmakers to premiere their short films on the big screen, engage other student filmmakers, meet industry professionals, and win cash prizes.

about trinity film festival

Trinity Film Festival is a volunteer organization run by students for students. Throughout the school year a team of student volunteers meet to coordinate festival logistics, market the event, and learn all that is involved to produce a major festival. In the spring, TFF invites 20-25 of the most talented undergraduate filmmakers in the world to Hartford for a celebration of student filmmaking. The short films of accepted filmmakers are screened at Cinestudio, followed by an awards banquet on the campus of Trinity College. Cinestudio is an independent, single screen movie house started in 1970 by a group of Trinity students. It quickly became one of the premier arts theaters in the United States and today operates as a 501(c)(3) led by two of its founders, Co-Executive Directors James Hanley and Peter McMorris.

NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Thank you for visiting Trinity Film Festival. I hope on this website you will learn something about the scope and magnitude of this project and the incredible amount of hard work our students have volunteered to make this event excel every year since its inception. This festival came to life by capitalizing on a unique asset of Trinity College and Hartford. Cinestudio is the best movie theater in which I have ever viewed a film. It is the best not just because of its aesthetics, but because of the knowledgeable staff, the advanced technical capabilities, and the overall mission to give the best atmosphere possible for watching movies. With this already in place, it was feasible to dream of creating a festival that could draw filmmakers and theatergoers to Cinestudio for a special evening together.

When you bring together young talent from across the globe and place it all in the same room (or this case, theater) it elicits a certain unique energy. To have all these undergraduate filmmakers sitting together with a large audience around them viewing their projects on the big screen for the first time is truly something special. It is that energy and excitement that keeps people celebrating together late into the night, and coming back year after year.

Trinity Film Festival sits near to my heart, as do the countless individuals who have made it flourish and grow over the years. The hardest part about what I do is convincing others to invest resources (time, effort, money, brainpower, etc.) in my dream. I have nothing to offer in return other than a promise that attending this festival and investing in its mission of fostering student filmmaking will be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable experiences you ever have.

what people are saying

“I've been to festivals that are 30+ years running, but none have been able to match the quality and professionalism of Trinity Film Festival. Winning first place for Best Picture at Trinity Film Festival has opened so many doors for me in my professional endeavors. I have met so many industry professionals and incredibly talented filmmakers all because of this festival.”
- Arshum Rouhanian, TFF 2016-2018

“Trinity Film Festival was the highlight of my career thus far. Surrounded by true artists and creatives whose hearts all burn for filmmaking, it was a feeling like no other. The staff and services were top-tier and extremely professional, and it was clear that they cared about it all just as much as all of the filmmakers present.”
- Andrew Ochwat, TFF 2018

“There is nothing I enjoy more than watching the next generation of artists step into the world."
- Mary Buck, Alumni Panelist & former President of the Casting Society of America